What do you think?
Rate this book
The Art of Songwriting: How to Create, Think and Live Like a Songwriter
“What most songwriting guides won’t tell you is that success as a songwriter – however you define it – is as much about how you live your life and the way you see the world as it is about your skill with words and music.” The Art of Songwriting is a comprehensive guide to life, art and making great songs. It’s not about chasing a hit song. It’s not about theories that are interesting but no use filling the blank page. And most of all – it’s not just about the craft of songwriting. It’s about how to create, think and live like a songwriter . It’s about being resilient, innovative and passionate about what you make. It’s about how artists can change the world – and why they should. Stop relying on songwriting tricks, methods and shortcuts. It's time to embrace your inner artist, make your own rules and start creating like you've never created before. [Please be advised this book contains occasional mild profanity and might not be suitable for under 16s]
- GenresMusicNonfiction
192 pages, ebook
Published July 28, 2017
103 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 3, 2020
Not recommended.
This is very empty and vague.
It's basically a PDF, with ugly and unreadable font + bad page spacing, just printed. It does look very amateur and, yeah, PDF-ish.
Most of the text is non-informative motivational emptiness that does not provide any value, like, for example, the section 'you should collaborate with people' is supported by few examples of what you can do e.g. contact your friends, find the right people for your song etc. This list-like feature of basic things we all know to exist is found everywhere in the book. So, after you'd read this small section on collaboration, the author would move to another list of examples that support a different concept, such as 'Identify your style', which would be supported by a list of things like 'identify your genre; observe music that is out there; identify your strengths'. You get the idea.
No depth.
Apart from these empty lists, the rest of the book is extreme basics of songwriting illustrated – like, for example, the structure of a song.
On top of that, it's a very facepalm-y book. The author uses clichéd phrases, trite and hackneyed humour and insists on writing &!#@ instead of the word fuck as if we were in the year of 2004 and this was catchy and interesting. Instead, it comes off as very cringy.
I truly believe Mr Bell is passionate about his expertise and is well-meaning, however, I do not think this book contains any value to readers.
This is very empty and vague.
It's basically a PDF, with ugly and unreadable font + bad page spacing, just printed. It does look very amateur and, yeah, PDF-ish.
Most of the text is non-informative motivational emptiness that does not provide any value, like, for example, the section 'you should collaborate with people' is supported by few examples of what you can do e.g. contact your friends, find the right people for your song etc. This list-like feature of basic things we all know to exist is found everywhere in the book. So, after you'd read this small section on collaboration, the author would move to another list of examples that support a different concept, such as 'Identify your style', which would be supported by a list of things like 'identify your genre; observe music that is out there; identify your strengths'. You get the idea.
No depth.
Apart from these empty lists, the rest of the book is extreme basics of songwriting illustrated – like, for example, the structure of a song.
On top of that, it's a very facepalm-y book. The author uses clichéd phrases, trite and hackneyed humour and insists on writing &!#@ instead of the word fuck as if we were in the year of 2004 and this was catchy and interesting. Instead, it comes off as very cringy.
I truly believe Mr Bell is passionate about his expertise and is well-meaning, however, I do not think this book contains any value to readers.
December 5, 2020
I've got 6 songs on the go since I started reading this.
What a book. It's both vague and precise, quick and deep. Nothing in this book replaces a full on course on songwriting, but what it does do is inspire you and give you the belief to try, along with some basic techniques and lots of examples.
Since reading this I've been waking up every day with new song ideas and I've not around 6 songs on the go. None of them are finished. And none of them are that good yet, but all of them are better than anything I've ever attempted before because I way too scared to even try and didn't know where to begin.
So read this book and learn that you can write songs and you should write songs. The getting part happens after you begin.
What a book. It's both vague and precise, quick and deep. Nothing in this book replaces a full on course on songwriting, but what it does do is inspire you and give you the belief to try, along with some basic techniques and lots of examples.
Since reading this I've been waking up every day with new song ideas and I've not around 6 songs on the go. None of them are finished. And none of them are that good yet, but all of them are better than anything I've ever attempted before because I way too scared to even try and didn't know where to begin.
So read this book and learn that you can write songs and you should write songs. The getting part happens after you begin.
January 16, 2021
This is book teaches how to THINK like a songwriter. It does not really go into much techniques, ideas or tools. However, it's important to remember thinking like a songwriter is much more important than having 2-3 tools we use without really knowing how or why it works. I do recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve at their songwriting, by doing some needed "inside" work. The ending is very inspiring as well, and I do recommend any artist to read the last few chapters as they give an insight to art making itself. Ed Bell condensed very well, what someone else might have taken 600 pages or more to say.
December 26, 2020
Ed Bell gives his emphatic account of creativity with clarity and accessibility.
I learned what makes songs different and how they are structured verbally and musically.
I learned what makes songs different and how they are structured verbally and musically.
January 11, 2021
The Art of Songwriting. Ed Bell. Some technical ins and outs of songwriting.
February 17, 2021
Essential reading for any aspiring songwriter and a lesson in appreciation of music that you would not normally listen to
Read
June 6, 2021epic great learning material
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2024
It's OK. Not much depth to the advice.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews